As Bangladesh is a developing country, the education system here has not been fully ensured yet. As a result, a large part of the state is not yet aware of women's empowerment, equal rights and dignity.
Especially in the family life of working people these issues are neglected. But in recent times, with the help of various NGOs, these families have started to change. The men of these families now understand the dignity of women and are giving women the respect they deserve.
Since I am studying mass communication, as a part of it, I myself am monitoring the activities of these NGOs, in some cases joining them. Today I am telling the story of such a family change.
Masum is the father of two daughters, but he dislikes daughters. He used to quarrel with his wife Jhumur about this. He even used to beat his wife for this Raising two children,Though Jhumur had to do all the household chores.
Masum used to say, these are all the work of girls. Masum's negative attitude towards daughters and women was deteriorating day by day in their family.
Masum's village home is in Akharbaria village of Patuakhali, Bangladesh. He did not get the opportunity to study in a world of scarcity. From a young age, he worked as a day laborer in another's house with his father.
Once he migrated to Dhaka. He started his married life with a little adjustment by doing job at Workshop in Dhaka, works in garments. after marriage the birth of two daughters poisoned his life.
But In 2017, his life started to begin change. As he became a member of Concern Worldwide's Improving the Lives of Urban Extreme Poor (ILUEP) program.
SIP is playing a role as a partner in this program. The program is being conducted in Dhaka and Chittagong City Corporation with the aim of improving the overall living standards of the people living in slums.
This program is playing a role in fulfilling the necessary conditions for the overall quality of life such as women's empowerment in the family, gender equality, women's decision-making power, and women's participation in the use of resources.
In collaboration with this program, Masum and Jhumur received training in small business planning. Later, on the basis of negotiations, they started a business with a grocery store inside their house.
But Masum did not stop there. In 2017, Masum was listed as a changemaker and received 3 days of training on Gender Transformation.
Discussions on the involvement of men and boys in family work, dignified relationships, the impact of violence against women in the family or society, constructive guardianship, etc., teach Masum to think anew about his family and children.
Masum also participates in various training, motivation and counseling sessions on nutrition under the same program.
The next story is just about Masum's change. Masum now realizes that family life is much more peaceful with the bond of love between husband and wife.
Now he is cooperating with his wife in domestic affairs including treating her well. In addition to enrolling the eldest daughter in a local school, he himself regularly takes the girl to school.
This training has created leadership qualities in him Which helped him raise awareness to involve neighboring men and boys in their respective family affairs during the Corona epidemic.
He was also able to stop one child marriage in his slum during the Corona period in May 2020. Masum thinks the ILUEP project has changed their lives. He has changed himself. As well as has changed family members and is working to change about 100 families in his area. He wants to be more involved with this project in the future.
As a changemaker, he has already begun to spread this positive change among himself. Encouraging their parents to send other children from her slum to school.
He is also working to create awareness among slum adolescents against child marriage and sexual harassment.
